Incitec Pivot has picked prominent agricultural company director and chairman of Macquarie Group's 100,000 hectare grain growing business Viridis Ag, Mike Carroll, to lead its standalone fertiliser business when it splits from Dyno Nobel.
Mr Carroll is chairman designate of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers awaiting its structural separation from the explosives division to receive shareholder approval in the first half of next year.
Although Mr Carroll conceded he had not previously been as closely involved in agricultural manufacturing and trading entities such as Incitec, he was excited about the opportunity to lead the rebirthed business as it embarked on a new chapter.
"I've certainly had plenty of exposure to the fertiliser demand side of the equation," said Mr Carroll, a former agribusiness banker who runs his own commercial Angus cattle enterprise in Victoria.
He also sits on the boards of significant farming businesses, Rural Funds Management and Macquarie Bank's biggest agricultural investment venture, Paraway Pastoral Company, plus Genetics Australia, the Regional Investment Corporation and he chairs the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.
RELATED READING
"My agricultural experience is well aligned to the values and strategic objectives of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers," he said.
"I'm looking forward to being a part of its focus on becoming a leading soil health company."
While questions have been raised in farming circles about the rationale for splitting the fertiliser division from the income support provided by the big Australian and North American Dyno Nobel explosives business, bought in 2008, Mr Carroll noted the two were quite separate entities today with increasingly diverse priorities.
More focused
"We will have a much more focused business concentrating on the fertiliser market and the needs of farmers," he said.
"When you look at the results for the past year or two the fertiliser operation has been performing very strongly and the demand outlook continues to be very positive.
"We have a key role to play in the agriculture sector's ambition of exceeding $100 billion in farm gate output by 2030."
Although Incitec's investment in explosives may have previously provided something of a safety net for company earnings and shareholder dividends in an often volatile global fertiliser marketplace, Mr Carroll felt the company's strategy had evolved with a changing fertiliser environment.
Products and services to farmers were more technical as yield and soil nutrition mapping became more important to farm productivity.
The company had invested in biological business Australian Bio Fert in Victoria in response to farmers' evolving nutritional demand preferences.
More sophisticated
Fertiliser usage had generally become far more prescriptive and sophisticated as the farm sector recognised "using only what you need makes sense for productivity and profitability".
He said the company had a number of initiatives in play for growth in its domestic supply business.
An immediate focus on establishing the standalone domestic business' growth may expand towards more overseas opportunities.
Incitec Pivot Limited chairman, Brian Kruger, said Mr Carroll's intended appointment ensured the new Incitec Pivot Fertilisers board of directors would have an experienced leader with extensive financial, agriculture industry and governance experience.
"Michael's passion and commitment to the Australian agricultural sector is highly regarded, which will assist in the continued development and success of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers as a leading fertiliser and soil health company."
Ag sector experience
Mr Carroll's experience in the farm sector has included early career positions with farm inputs suppliers Monsanto Australia, Schering and Gene Link Australia, and 18 years with National Australia Bank where he built its agribusiness division.
In addition to current board jobs he has a long list of past directorships on Queensland Sugar, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Holdings, Select Harvests, Elders, Sunny Queen Australia, Tassal Group, the Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation, Victoria's Rural Finance Corporation, Meat and Livestock Australia and the Australian Farm Institute.
Mr Carroll holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from La Trobe University and a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne University Business School.
Start the day with all the big news in agriculture! Sign up below to receive our daily Farmonline newsletter.
Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
